Complacency has to be avoided this time around

DON"T worry about the quality, feel the victory. That may well be the motto for Navan next weekend as they seek to get back to winning ways when they host Newbridge in the second round of the Provincial Towns" Cup, 3.0. The Balreask Old side were left stunned after an unexpected 9-30 defeat by Seapoint two weeks ago that cut their once comfortable lead at the top of the Leinster League Div 1 to just a single point. They opted for a training session on the all weather surface at neighbours Ashbourne last week as they sought to work on aspects of their game that went askew against Seapoint. The main target now is to get back to winning ways and they have the Kildare side in their sights as they look to bounce back in the best possible fashion and retain their hold on the Towns" Cup. Earlier this season Navan and Newbridge met in a league clash at Newbridge and on that occasion the Meath side achieved a 27-7 victory, with four tries ensuring a bonus point. According to Navan coach Brad Harris that game was one of those occasions when his team had to dig deep before they finally subdued their opponents. He expects another uncompromising encounter. Harris feels that there are even more reasons to be wary of Newbridge this time around and he confirmed that the Navan men could expect a stern test. For the league clash, Newbridge were short a number of regulars and they are likely to be at full strength for the cup match. Harris agrees that one of the most testing tasks facing any manager or coach is to get their team back on track after a potentially morale-sapping defeat. He also added that with so much experience in the ranks, the Navan team know exactly how to bounce back from what was their first defeat in nearly a year against Seapoint. The players may well be concerned about the lack of opportunities they carved out in that game and how they uncharacteristically coughed up possession, allowing their opponents the chance to find openings in what was an unusually porous defence. Ironically, the defeat on a bone-chilling, winters day close to the Dublin mountains could yet act as a timely wake up call as the season"s end approaches. 'We certainly didn"t have a great day out against Seapoint, in fairness they punished our errors very effectively,' Harris told the Meath Chronicle. 'Hopefully it will act as the wake up call we needed. 'We will remain positive and upbeat, we still believe that we are a good enough side to give us a chance of competing with anybody at this level. 'We certainly don"t believe the performance that day reflected how good a team we are,' he added. Little went right for the Navan men in the tight or the loose, that day. The set pieces were less than impressive, something that Harris has accepted and has sought to remedy. 'We went to Ashbourne last week for half a day. We had a team meeting, we wanted to get back on the training paddock. 'We wanted to reassess our goals, talk about areas where we felt it went wrong against Seapoint. 'We believe that if we have the right attitude that we can get the win in the Newbridge game.' Despite the Navan coach"s reservations, the statistics point to just one outcome - a Navan victory. Newbridge languish at the bottom of the league table with no victories to their name and just two points in the bag, both earned for twice losing by less than seven points. It"s the kind of record that suggests that unless Newbridge play way above themselves, then Navan should win with plenty to spare. Navan have a number of injury worries going into the clash with Johnny Baker, Conor Brady and Karl Manning seeking to recover from knocks. Also likely to be missing again is Sylvanus Iro who is continuing with his efforts to have his work permit renewed. Like a growing number of clubs in different sports, Navan have been affected by the economic downturn. They have already lost the services of Ronan Conaty who has moved to England to pursue his studies. 'We"ve got a number of guys who are in-between jobs at the moment, it"s a challenge, something that"s affecting just about every club I would imagine. We"re trying to use whatever contacts we have and work on job placements for guys,' concluded Harris. It"s about keeping a good team together for Navan and win over Newbridge is the immediate objective.